Bill, hope you don't mind the subject. Don't know where else to post it so my experience with this nightmare might be helpful to some folks. I strongly advise everyone to think carefully before doing this.

My surgery was 4weeks ago. I feel 10 years older than I was 4 weeks ago, and still in pain and still need to be no more than 6 seconds away from a bathroom. I counted. 6 seconds.

Let's go back a few weeks. I decided on the surgery because medications stopped working for me. I was taking two prostate medicines daily (Flowmax and Trospium).

My internet research and discussion with the doctor both indicated that laser surgery is not as effective as the TURP. So, being a brave Uechi Ryu guy I said what the heck. Give me the TURP. OMG!

The surgery itself was nothing. I was totally knocked out and didn't feel a thing. The problem was, well, if anyone ever decided to do this, at least insist on staying in the hospital overnight. They say that most people have no problems but, you can almost bet that you will be the one have the problems. That's how things are usually. They sent me home after the surgery. Mistake!

And, try not to have a surgery the day before a weekend and in my case, a long 3-day weekend. I thought of that but I just didn't want to wait any longer so I took it on. Another mistake!

The next morning after surgery I had severe screaming pain and the big catheter bag was filled with blood even after emptying it several times during the night. The son took me to the ER. It is not a rinky dink public hospital mind you. It is a relatively new and huge place. It was a three-day weekend so hardly anyone was working at the ER. They couldn't even locate my surgeon until late into the evening. By that time I was ready to commit harikari due to the pain. They then decided to do the continuous draining and sent me to the hospital ward. Hardly anyone was working there either. Terrible. Make a long story short, after 4 days I was released from the hospital. Two days later they removed the catheter. I will never wear one of those things again if I can help it!

It is now 4 weeks after surgery the burning pain is still there every time I "p", and that is about every 45 minutes at most, 24/7. The pains are not quite as unbearable as say 2 weeks ago but they are still Bad! I googled the subject and the best I found is the problems should go away 6 weeks after surgery. The way it has been progressing, I don't think 2 more weeks would do it.

I think they botched the surgery. I googled the surgeon's name before the surgery but found nothing. The surgeon was not my regular urologist because his surgery schedule was booked till mid December and I didn't want to wait so I took on anyone available. Mistake #1 actually. Should have waited. My regular urologist said he will stick a camera in there if it doesn't get better in another 2 weeks.

I had to do something else other than just sitting next to the bathroom so this morning I did all eight Uechi katas for the first time since surgery. Tai Chi speed of course (Isn't that how Tai Chi got started?) I even "fought" with Bob for a few minutes too. Good thing he never fights back. Now I feel a little more "alive". Sorry, got to run to the bathroom again.

Second... All men who live long enough will eventually get BPH or Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. It is a consequence of testosterone being converted to DHT or dihydrotestosterone. There are natural, pharmaceutical, and eventually surgical ways to delay, treat, and eventually "fix" BPH.

Third... you did the right thing not staying in the hospital after surgery. IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, you should recuperate at home. Hospitals are the home of bacterial infections that are resistant to all antibiotics known to man. It is a place where people die from such nosocomial infections. If at all possible, you want to recuperate at home.

Fourth... if I had gotten to the point of surgery, I would have done the laser treatment. Side effects of a bad TURP or Trans Urethral Resection of the Prostate include impotence and/or incontinence. It isn't trivial. But it's a done deal now. Fingers crossed.

From this point forward, I highly recommend a daily diet of raw pumpkin seeds and a cranberry extract supplement. The former will help with the urination, and the latter prevents urinary tract infections. (The cranberry supplements work better than cranberry juice.)

Good luck getting back on your feet again. And by all means if you don't get better, stay with your doctor until you do. Also make sure you know the results of any biopsies they may have done on your prostate tissue. Prostate cancer is also in all men's futures if they live long enough. Fortunately most of us die with it rather than from it. And on that note, keep eating cooked tomatoes (with a touch of olive oil) and eating watermelon. The lycopene - which gives those foods its color - is your best deterrent to prostate cancer. This fat-soluble nutriceutical is best absorbed when cooked and served with a touch of fat (e.g. the olive oil).

Thanks, Bill. I am offering more info in case someone here needs it in the future.

Update: It is now exactly four weeks since surgery and the pains all of a sudden disappeared. Like they just walk off. What a load off my shoulders (or more accurately, down there). I had to endure about 30 seconds of unbearable pain about every 45 minutes 24/7 for four weeks. Still need to run to the bathroom every 45 minutes or so though.

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you did the right thing not staying in the hospital after surgery

You are right generally regarding potential for hospital infection. Most prostate surgery info I found on the net however says patients should stay one night to allow thorough flushing of blood clogs and whatnot. It is even a typical MO for some hospitals. I wished I didn't just leave it to the "kid genius" -- (that's what one of the walk-in doctors told me during the weekend while I was screaming bloody murder in pain and swearing at the unseen surgeon that the surgeon is called the kid-genius in the hospital and I should not be worried, huh? My point in bringing this up is, you need to get a surgeon with experience. I was hesitant before the surgery when I saw the kid-genius' photo and background in the hospital web site. Just a kid. The world is full of smart kids but there are things they only learn from experience). I also think he was in too much of a rush to take off for the long Veteran Day weekend. I wasn't fully awake after surgery so my son took me home when they told him to. I was so upset having the unbearable pain spasms and seeing the bags of blood that night and the next morning. My take: Do stay one night after this sort of surgery. If no problem, then go home. And get a surgeon with some gray hairs.

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if I had gotten to the point of surgery, I would have done the laser treatment

I had discussed this with my regular urologist (the chief surgeon, btw. I never heard from the kid-genius since the surgery) and searched the internet. Consensus is most folks who had laser surgery need to repeat again after about 10 years. The TURP, a little longer. I knew the TURP would be more painful but didn't imagine this painful!

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Side effects of a bad TURP or Trans Urethral Resection of the Prostate include impotence and/or incontinence.

I don't know about the incontinence part yet. I still need to run to the bathroom within 6 seconds of the slightest urge, I have been saying about every 45 minutes but it is more like anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes. The doc re-prescribed Trospium last week to help me out. That's one of the two prostate medicines I took for years before the surgery. Now back to it? Hope just for a little while until total recovery.

As to impotence, well, don't know about that yet either. Been staying away from all nasty thoughts and pictures since surgery to avoid complications. Feeling like a monk now. Not too bad as a matter of fact. My mind had never been this clean since puberty a hundred years ago. But since you brought up the subject, I did think about this before the surgery and still think it could be a blessing in disguise if it ever became a reality. A life time of having the little head controlling just about everything (couldn't help it and please don't tell me it is only me) has become a burden more than anything else.

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I highly recommend a daily diet of raw pumpkin seeds and a cranberry extract supplement. The former will help with the urination, and the latter prevents urinary tract infections.

The urinary tract did get infected 2 weeks ago. I took antibiotic for a few days and it is gone.

Merry Christmas everyone. The wife is taking me out tonight for Sushi to celebrate the disappearance of the dreaded pains.

I think you'll find that the pumpkin seeds may keep you from having to go back for another TURP - no matter which method you chose. Evidence is pretty strong that it slows down and in some cases reverses BPH.

Get those cranberry extract supplements soon. You'll be at risk for UTIs for a while. It's best just to have it as a daily regimen. It works really well for some, and can't hurt. The pills are a pretty striking red/pink color. Very appetizing. As with all such supplements, go with name brands and try to get "standardized extracts." You would expect no less of an FDA-approved pharmaceutical.

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